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Interview with Transport for London

EiDA16 Winner

Diversity Marketing Campaign Award

The exceptional 100 Years of Women in Transport campaign (YOWIT) has developed a network of over 12,500 people and 270 organisations in its first 14 months. YOWIT was created to engage, motivate and inspire current and future generations, particularly women, with the aim of strengthening diversity amongst the transport industry. It has been internationally recognised by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank and also set a Guinness World Record on National Women in Engineering Day 2015. YOWIT has been incorporated into the DfT’s Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy as an effective way of increasing diversity within the industry. YOWIT is set to launch an industry wide school toolkit which will provide a single articulation for the industry to inspire future generations to consider a career in transport. YOWIT has delivered a huge number of events in collaboration with its partners and sponsors and has been revolutionary in its approach, achieving an unprecedented amount in its first 14 months.

We caught up with Kate Keane from Transport for London who attended the awards and picked up The Diversity Marketing Campaign of the Year. This is what she said…

What were your thoughts when you found out Transport for London won The Diversity Marketing Campaign of the Year Award?

I was really really happy because it was the first awards we won for the programme and we were up against 4 others in the category who were all such worthy winners. I was getting ready to clap to everyone else! It was a great feeling.

How did you feel about the other shortlisted nominees within your category?

I thought they were all extremely worthy winners; I was so impressed by everyone! Looking at the other nominees, you almost feel like you don’t deserve it because everyone was so amazing! All the campaigns were unbelievable, such excellence campaigns with such a far reach.

After winning the award, what are the next steps in term of diversity for Transport for London?

The awards ceremony was just before our legacy launch event so it was great we could announce the award there.

The next steps though are to continue with what we are doing. We’ve just launched a school’s tool kit to inspire the next generation of both males and females. We are focusing this at the ages of 11-16 and trying to reach as many schools as possible.

We have also had over 2000 hits globally! After analysing the first 2 weeks it seems to be going across the globe in terms of people accessing and using the programme and resources.

As well as trying to inspire the next generation, we are also looking to engage with women currently working within the transport industry. We are looking to develop areas for improvement and look at programmes to bring people back to the transport industry and ultimately create a more diverse work force.

What impact do you think your diversity work is having?

It seems to be having a really positive effect with over 12,500 people across the transport industry getting involved. Although it is being spearheaded by Transport for London, it is an industry wide programme in terms of diversity. It’s always difficult to evaluate the full impact after only just a year. Transport for London are above average with 24% of women in the industry but that can vary, so the feed-back we have received is fantastic. It has given people the confidence to stand up and be heard. People are now proud to say they are part of the transport industry.

Why do you think diversity within an organisation is important?

Is vitally important partially within the UK and the transport industry that we reflect the population and customers. At the moment, we as an industry are behind, so it’s important that we improve on that. It’s also important for people from diverse backgrounds to be inspired by the work we do so that they can aspire and achieve.

I feel that particularly for Transport for London, with it serving such a diverse city, that they reflect the population it serves.

What were your thoughts on the awards? Did you enjoy the night?

Yeah it was my first awards ceremony so I didn’t know what to expect but it was really inspirational to see so many people from different industries and background who have done so much to promote diversity and champion it so it was amazing. It was an overall excellent event!